Maple Fire: Zuko's Tale
by Cala Akina Morushiku
Summary: Zuko has been banished by his neglectful father...at the age of 7. Taken in by his wily Aunt Auska, this story is a chronicle of Zuko's life from that point until he sees that big pillar' o light in the pilot episode. Please R&R. First Multichaptered Avat
1. Default Chapter

**Maple Fire**

**Chapter 1**

A metallic citadel stuck out like a sore thumb in the autumn foliage, its oppressive charcoal shade contrasting with the yellows, reds, and oranges of the land. Put together with nuts and bolts, it looked like a huge square of iron connected to two smaller rectangles. The windows were the only thing that was bright on the outside of building since the evening sun was reflecting off of them. Normally the blinds were opened during this time of day, but for what was occurring within the building required darkness.

"And may the strength and power of Agni watch over you and keep you in the light that is Fire," the richly adorned priest solemnly exclaimed, swinging a container of smoking incense. Everyone in the room was silent and calm in reverence to the dead one. Well, all accept one.

"Zuko, stop sniffling!" Lord Ozai commanded in a harsh whisper, grabbing the seven year old, black haired boy by the hand firmly and giving a tight squeeze. The two royalties stood at the head of the congregation, along with the boy's uncles and aunts and cousins. Also, the royal counsel stood just behind them, dressed in their formal black robes and ridiculous hats that barely anyone could see over.

Zuko grimaced and shut his eyes tightly, feeling the squeeze nearly crush his young hand. He tried yanking away, but the father only grabbed tighter. The boy squirmed, but to no avail. The priest opened his mouth and began to drone on again.

"Lady Kata was, indeed, a powerful woman. She carried herself with dignity and honored her family and in-laws. She was an obedient wife and strict mother, however she was not without compassion and love for her young price," the priest said. Zuko momentarily stopped squirming to look over at his dead mother lying in the ornate, crimson coffin. The black-haired woman's amber eyes were closed and in her clasped hands was a bouquet of Cyclamens (resignation) and white Hyacinths (I'll pray for you). She was dressed in her most formal robes of dark crimson, midnight blue, and black, signifying a serious occasion.

"She will be forever missed by all of us. From the highest judge to the lowest peasant, all will mourn her passing," the priest muttered on, his monotone voice increasing the feeling of gloom that was settling over the young prince and everyone else in the room. "Let us have a moment of silence as we, too, mourn the death of this passing monarch," he beseeched, spreading his arms wide, in a circular motion while inhaling. He brought them to a praying position with both palms pressed together. The other people in the room followed suit and the room became totally silent.

Zuko remained staring at his dead mother. Her ethereal pale skin looked even paler in death and without her electric, amber eyes open she looked like a sleeping doll. The young prince glanced around the room to make sure that no one was watching him as he made his way over to his mother. Standing right beside her coffin, he examined her with cold and unfeeling eyes. Not one tear had fallen from his amber eyes since her sickness. Nor at her death. Not even now, at her funeral, the last time he would ever get to see his precious mother, would he cry. The prince's eyes narrowed and he turned his back on the coffin. He walked over to where he was standing and patiently waited for the prayers to be over.

"Powerful Agni: We plead that you take this soul into your fiery embrace and that she is accepted into you. Please grant us this wish as we are but mere, humbled mortals. In your everlasting name we pray…" the priest prayed aloud. He then turned and faced the wall he had previously had his back to. On the wall was a ceramic red dragon's head. He crouched onto his knees and bowed so that his long, white hair fanned out across the floor and his nose just barely touched the ground. Everyone in the room followed suit, even Zuko, and they bowed like that for several minutes. Then, slowly but surely, everyone in the congregation stood up again and calmly waited for the priest, who, by tradition, was supposed to remain praying the longest.

"I hate these religious types…such a waste of time and money," Zuko heard his father mutter under his breath, his eyes narrowed with disdain towards the priest. Zuko turned his attention to the priest and watched with him with curiosity and a bit of annoyance. How could someone sit like that for so long? Did he really believe that that dragon could hear him?

"Oh, brother, spare the poor man. His last days are approaching him, as it were," a mocking, soft, female voice interrupted. Zuko's ocher eyes diverted their attention from the man to the woman standing at his father's side. He recognized her instantaneously.

"Auska, you're too kind hearted. That's why you never inherited the throne," his father scoffed back, never bothering to look over to the woman standing next to him. The Fire Lord crossed his arms and chuckled, turning his back to the priest and his dead wife without a second thought. His long salt and pepper hair swooshed with the suddenness of his turn and some loose hairs fell out of his top knot. The woman clucked her tongue and followed her brother.

"Ozai, the only reason I didn't inherit the throne has absolutely nothing to do with my personality. I was second to last born. Naturally, I would not inherit it. You know this," she stated coolly, the long black robes of her dress sliding silently across the metallic floor. Her ebon hair was tied up in two elaborate buns on either side of her head, with black orchids pinned on either side of those buns. Her cool, dark orange eyes held little amusement, as were their usual expression.

"Never-the-less, I'm glad that I didn't inherit. It's such a meaningless post, really," she continued, casting a sly smile over to her brother. He whirled on her and fiery rage shone through his eyes. Zuko glanced around the room to find that no one had noticed the sibling rivalry going on between his father and favorite aunt. He timidly walked a few more paces closer to the two royals and stood behind an ornate pillar.

"Ozai, Ozai, Ozai, when will you learn to control that temper of yours?" Auska asked, contemptuously. She snickered and leaned in closer to her brother, "And besides, you know what I say is true! You're army walks all over you! What with your absence for the past 3 months due to your ridiculous search for the Avatar, the army has slowly begun to take more control of the war…and your campaign. Beware, soon they will be marching upon your palace," she whispered, her sly and devious smile never leaving her crimson lips. Auska's eyes sparkled with ridicule and mischievousness. Her brother's face was beet red with anger and his fists clenched up in a tight ball.

"Do not cross me, Sister. You know as well as I do that I could remove you from that pathetic spit of an island you call a home and kingdom. Don't forget: I am the Lord of the Fire Nation," he whispered harshly, his lips nearly touching her ear. She cast him a bemused glanced but showed no other reaction. Suddenly, her gaze locked on with Zuko's and she sneered.

"I must say, you are a disgraceful father," she said, matter-of-factly. Auska backed up a few paces and crossed her arms, her long, black sleeves folding over one another.

"What?" Lord Ozai demanded, startled by her sudden change of topic.

"You, sir, are a horrible father. Look at your son; he's on the brink of tears! And you've done nothing to comfort him. For Agni's sake, he's lost his mother and now he'll be stuck with you…poor dear." Auska sadly said, shaking her head. Ozai turned his head to look over his shoulder and spied Zuko clutching the pillar, watching with wide eyes the argument that had just taken place.

"We'll see if he stays stuck with me," the Fire Lord grumbled, making his way over to the prince. Zuko gasped and tried running away to the other side of the room, but the father grabbed his hand before he could get anywhere. Zuko squirmed, but stopped when his father squeezed his hand with the same crushing grip. Ozai lead his son over to where he was previously standing and then abruptly let go when he reached his sister.

"Price Zuko…" Auska smiled sweetly, but her eyes held sadness and pity in them. She bent down until she was eye to eye with her nephew.

"Hello, Aunt Auska. How are you?" he asked timidly, remembering not to meet her eyes, as was the custom in the Fire Nation. He looked down at the charcoal floor and studied a bolt in the floor that had come undone.

"I'm fine, thank you. But that's unimportant. What's more important is how you are doing. So tell me, how are you?" she asked, laying an alabaster hand on to his armor clad shoulder. His shoulder bent under the weight, but he quickly straightened it.

"I'm doing well," he answered quietly, staring at the bolt with a determined ferocity in his eyes. His eyes began to sting for some reason he could not figure out.

"Zuko, your aunt and I have agreed that it would be best if you traveled back to her kingdom with her and lived there…forever," Lord Ozai coolly stated, watching with a satisfied grin as his sister's head shot up and her amber eyes glistened with confused anger. Zuko remained staring at the floor but his father noticed the boy grow stiff.

"And when did we decide this, brother?" Auska icily asked, glaring at her emotionless brother with such hatred. Ozai chuckled and called a servant over to him. The servant came over and offered the lord a glass of warm wine. He took it without a second glance at the man and sipped it slowly, his eyes never leaving his sister's. He took a second sip and downed the drink. Licking his lips to remove the excess alcohol, he laughed bitterly.

"Well, just now!" Ozai chortled, shaking his head at his sister's idiocy. "If you think you can raise **my** son better than I can, well, I see no reason why I should keep him," the Fire Lord sneered. He watched as his sister stood up hesitantly. She wrapped her arm around the boy and drew him over to her side.

"Brother…" she started, before feeling Zuko grab at her black dress and pressing himself tightly into her. She stared down at Zuko with a worried expression and tried to release his grip from her.

"See! Look at that--he wants to go! Let him go if he hates me so!" the man laughed, motioning to his son with his empty drink. He threw his head back and laughed heartily. "Let the boy go! He's pathetic anyways. Hardly worth my time!" he retorted, glaring at his sister.

"You go too far, Brother…" Auska trembled, disgust causing her blood to drain from her face. She moved towards her brother with such speed and strength that Zuko hardly had time to catch his fall as he fell to the floor. The woman marched up to her brother, hand raised for a good slap in the face. However, Ozai was faster and caught her wrist in a pinching grasp. Bending it backwards, he caused her to bend under the pain he inflicted.

"I will go as far as I want to. He will leave with you immediately or you both can be disowned and stripped of your titles. How does that sound?" he whispered hoarsely in her ear, spittle coming from his lips. Auska laughed bitterly and nodded.

"Sounds fair enough, I suppose. You drive a hard bargain, Lord Ozai." She gasped as the pressure was released from her bent wrist. Rubbing it gingerly, she glowered at her brother, but retreated back to the boy.

"Of course it's fair! I said it!" Ozai snickered, waving over another servant. "Go collect Lady Auska's and Prince Zuko's things. Have them brought back to her ship. They will be departing in 20 minutes." He said to the richly adorned servant, simpering at his sister. The man nodded and bowed and then went to alert the other servants. Lord Ozai approached his son and laid a hand on his head. The boy's black hair shined with the reflected light of the candles and Lord Ozai ruffled it, mocking fatherly adoration.

"Be good to your aunt. She'll be the only one to be good to you," he said, disdain and disgust dripping from his words. The boy blinked back the same, unrecognizable sting from his eyes and bent his head further down. Zuko felt his father chuckling and the weight of the large hand leave his head. The man turned his back to the two monarchs and walked down the metallic hallway, people clearing the way for him with every step he took.

"Aunt Auska?" Zuko asked, turning his head to where his aunt stood. He was shocked to find that there was no one standing by his side. Turning around in a full circle, he could not find her anywhere. Zuko wandered around the room, hoping to find his aunt or someone he knew who could direct him to where she may be. However, everyone in the room was a complete stranger to the young boy and an overwhelming sense of loneliness overcame him as he desperately searched their faces. He made his way over to a low chair and fell into it, his back resting against it. Kicking the legs of the chair with his red boots, he sniffled again and frantically tried to restrain the stinging.

"It's not fair…" he whispered to himself, bowing his head onto his knee cap. He buried his head into his pant leg and closed his orange eyes. Never before had Zuko felt more alone than when he was surrounded by all these people. They had come to mourn the death of his mother, but to Zuko, if felt more like they were mourning his.


	2. Would you like to hear our specials for ...

**Chapter 2**

"And so your father sends us off. It's just like him, too. The man knows nothing of tact," Auska's usual cold and ironic voice snickered. The long, raven black hair once tied back in two buns streamed widely in the sea breeze. Strands crossed her face and joined back into larger strands and those into even larger strands. The ebony silk of her mourning robes shined with a reddish tint as the sun set into the azure body of water.

Zuko stood by the woman in forlorn silence, gazing back at the silhouette of the Fire Nation palace. The fiery sun glared in his eyes and Zuko squinted them to try to get a better picture of his home. He wanted to make sure he remembered it. After all, this would be the last time he would see the palace in a very, very long time.

"What are you thinking, nephew?" Auska addressed him, turning her attention down to the 7 year old. She laid an elegant hand on his shoulder and let it fall to his back, where she rubbed him affectionately. Zuko stiffened at the unfamiliar touch. He was unaccustomed to someone touching him like that. Was this some kind of affection? Was he supposed to do the same thing? Never before in his life had he ever felt so confused over a simple gesture. If fact, never in his young life had he ever been so confused at all.

"I thinking about…" he started before looking down at the ship's deck and sighing, "I'm not really sure what I'm thinking, Aunt Auska," the prince concluded, gazing back up at the horizon. The palace was now only a small dot of black on the large, everlasting horizon and that thought made the stinging rise up again.

"Surely your head isn't completely empty. Zuko…as long as I am to be your guardian, I want you to feel that you can talk to me. I know I could never take the place of your mother…but, let me try to help you. I know these are trying times, nephew. Please, don't shy away from me," Auska asked, falling onto her knees so that she was amber eye-to-amber eye with the boy. He took a few steps back, unaccustomed to this kind of nearness with someone else's eyes, but upon seeing the sorrow in his aunt's eyes, stopped in his tracks. Zuko stared at her for the longest time like that: her gown raging in the wind, black hair blowing across her face, and her emotional orange eyes holding such grief. He bore the image into his mind and swore that he would never forget it.

"I'm sorry, Aunt." Zuko mumbled, head cast downwards and to the side so that he could avoid looking into her sorrowful eyes. He watched as her shadow grew over him and he watched as it slowly covered him and blocked out the glaring light of the setting sun. It seemed like an eternity until he finally heard her voice again.

"Zuko, shall we go inside and have some dinner? Does that sound good to you?" she asked, gently grabbing his gloved hand and leading him back to the main haul of the iron ship.

"Dinner would be fine," Zuko answered, a small smile creeping up on his face. He hoped that after dinner things would return to normal and he would not have to witness anything so hyper-emotional ever again.

Dinner that night consisted of smoked salmon, white rice, stir-fried vegetables, and a generous supply of green tea. Zuko sat across the gigantic table from his now less richly adorned Aunt Auska and watched her pick at the pink, juicy fish. He looked down at his own fish and prodded it gently with the black chopsticks. It steamed and a mixture of sea-salt and marinade constituted the smell. Zuko turned his attention to the veggies and identified each one: broccoli, sugar snap peas, carrots, water crest, and eggplant. The young prince hesitantly picked up a carrot and brought to his mouth.

"Oh, do blow on that before you eat it. It looks hot," Auska said, chopsticks poised for picking up another portion of salmon. Zuko blinked up at her, glanced at the veggie, and blew on it gently, his blowing hardly making a sound. He popped it into his mouth and chomped on it thoughtfully. He looked up to see his aunt smiling at him in a way he did not understand.

"Zuko, what would you like to do once we arrive at my palace?" the black haired woman asked, signaling for the servant standing off to the side to pour her more tea. Zuko watched as the green, steaming liquid was poured into the terra cotta cup and thought about how to phrase his response.

"Well…what is there to do?" he asked finally, gazing steadily at his aunt. She smiled and winked at him from over the rim of her cup. Placing it back down onto the cherry table top, she quietly cleared her throat with a little cough.

"A good question. Anything you like to do can be arranged back home," Auska replied. Zuko felt a strange sense of uncertainty and isolation at the mention of the "home", when referred to his Aunt's palace. Could he ever come to know it as home?

"Tell me, what do you like to do? Quite honestly, although you are, undoubtedly, my favorite nephew, I hardly know you, Zuko," the woman confessed frankly, "I suppose I like you…for your mystery," Auska confided, smiling at Zuko in a way that put him off guard. He had no idea what she was referring to by his "mystery". Zuko didn't think he was mysterious. Honestly, the prince considered himself quite simple and almost boring.

"I'm sure you have no idea what I'm talking about," Auska guessed, taking the bowl of white rice in her left and the black chopsticks in her right. Zuko shook his head no and this aunt let out a tinkling laugh, her head thrown back, and shoulders shaking. "I figured as much! Well, my dear, I say this because to me, you are a complete mystery. So quiet! Whenever I came to your father's palace, you'd either be off studying or off with one of your little playmates. I've never gotten a chance to see you outside of family gatherings!" she answered, stuffing a wad of rice into her mouth and then embarrassedly wiping her mouth with the napkin.

Zuko contemplated on her words. It was true what she was saying. He never really did see her outside of family affairs. He wondered why she was his favorite then. The boy looked down at his bended knees and frowned. Zuko was truly baffled now.

"What's funny," Auska's voice interrupted and Zuko's head shot up to give her his owed attention, "is that, according to my very reliable sources, I am your favorite aunt, apparently. I wonder why that is?" she inquired suggestively, placing the white, porcelain bowl down onto the long table. Zuko stared at her in awe. Was Aunt Auska a mind reader?

"Apparently, we were thinking the same thing?" she hazarded a guess, sipping the green tea. Zuko nodded his head in wonderment and Auska laughed her laugh of tinkling bells. "Great minds surely think alike!" she exclaimed, smiling at him, laughter still held in her amber eyes. Zuko allowed himself a small smile and picked up a piece of fish. He blew on it cautiously and placed it in his mouth.

"But, truly, I ask you: Why? Why, out of the all the aunts you have, do you pick me?" she asked sincerely, staring at him with such an emotional intensity that Zuko could not look away. He tried to form words, but found that none suitable enough could be called up.

"I…I don't know," he answered lamely, dropping his gaze onto the floor. He could still feel his aunt's powerful eyes on him and he bowed his head further down.

"Hmmm…" Auska hummed, interested, and stuffed some peas into her mouth. She chewed them slowly, contemplative, and swallowed. "I believe the answer was already stated, yes?'Great minds think alike'? Yes, that was it," she said, picking up a single grain of rice and attempted to have it stand up. Zuko glanced up and smiled at her efforts.

"Like this," he inaudibly explained, taking a chopstick and picking up a grain. He placed it neatly on the top of his white rice and picked up another grain. They both were able to stand up on straight. Auska stared at the boy's skill with wide eyes, watching eagerly as he continued to stand one after another up with out any difficulty.

"How do you do that?" she asked bewildered. Zuko's smile broadened and he began to pick them up with greater speed. However, not one fell. His accuracy and poise were perfect.

"I could spell my name like this," he bragged, his courage beginning to shine through and his true self slowly beginning to be coaxed out of its wounded and guarded shell. Auska laughed and clapped her hands in delight.

"Fine things, my boy! You were made for fine things!"


	3. Lost

Chapter 3

The heavy, iron ship slid silently through the warm gulf waters of the Midori, with the occasional gull crying. Dull, heather gray mist coated the body of the waves and the sky. The air was cool and little beads of dew were littered across the ship's deck. Night had just passed and the radiant globe of fire that was the sun struggled to assert itself through the dismal weather. The waves were unusually calm, making an ever so soft swishing sound against the ship's bow.

Zuko, wrapped in a burgundy blanket, stared at the gulf stretched out before him. His ebon bangs whipped wildly in the ocean breeze, sending strands of hair into his eyes. The prince shook his head and the hair settled back into place. Zuko tugged the blanket tighter around his shoulders and sighed.

"So much as happened…all in one day," he said to himself, although he could hardly hear his own voice over the wind. The sea began churning and the strengthening wind blew a gust of sea-salt air in his face. Tiny droplets of water hit Zuko in the face, spraying him with ocean water. He blinked and moved his hand to wipe away the remnants of the splash.

Suddenly, a gull cried and landed on the bar that surrounded the deck of the ship. Its ocher eyes met Zuko's and it squawked at the boy, it's shrill voice causing him to wince. Sticking his blanket-covered fingers into his ears, he furrowed his brows as the bird continued its banter. Minuets went by and still the wretched creature would not leave. It seemed that whenever Zuko dared to uncover his ears, the bird would begin its discordant calling again. Zuko, having had quite enough of this, uncovered his ears and inhaled a large breath of sea air.

"Shut up!" he bellowed, his tiny fists balled up. He leaned forwards, hoping to project his voice enough so that the stupid thing would be blown off the ship. It shrieked, arose into the sky, and flew off back into the fog. Zuko huffed, trying to regain his breath, as he watched the gull disappear. The burgundy blanket had blown off his ivory shoulders and whipped around until it finally settled. It lay uselessly on the ground, half of it outside, the other half in the ship's stairwell. Zuko's skin prickled as Goosebumps emerged all over his arms. The ebon haired boy's fists relaxed and his arms hung awkwardly at his sides. He was somewhat shocked by his outburst and contemplated on it. He crossed his arms to retain some warmth as one confusing thought after another raced through his mind.

Why was the bird yelling at him?

Where exactly had the bird come from?

Was he wrong to have yelled at the bird?

Was he becoming his father?

All previous sensation of warmth left him at that last thought. His father. What was his father doing now? Did he feel badly for sending his only child away? Did he miss Zuko? The boy dropped down and sat, clutching his knees to his chest, on the freezing and wet deck. A fit of shivers wracked his body and he glanced longingly at the blanket that had covered him before. Still, Zuko felt like it was too far away to try and attempt to go and get. He'd rather freeze. The young monarch sat like that for what seemed like hours. A light rain began to fall and this only caused Zuko's shivers to intensify. It seemed like his whole body was out of control, when suddenly--

"Oh, Zuko! Agni on a spit (1)! What do you think you're doing, child!" Auska's distressed voice rang out, as two large hands lifted him up from under the arms. The person who had lifted him up attempted to have him stand on his own too feet, but it seemed that his feet had fallen asleep. So, instead of standing, he just fell over again. The large hands lifted him up again and flung him over their shoulder. His gut connected with their shoulder plate rather hard and the boy groaned.

"Be careful with him, you brute! He's child, not a sack of rice!" his aunt snapped, although her voice sounded far off. Zuko relaxed as much as he could and drifted off to a somewhat restful sleep.

Zuko felt the softness of silk in his fingertips and he rubbed it against his face. The cool and glossy fabric slid through his hands easily. As he searched for it, he slowly began to realize that he was, in fact, surrounded by the same fabric and the boy ran his hands over it, a small smile on his lips.

He liked silk. It wasn't sticky and hot like wool, and it wasn't light and unable to retain warmth like linen. It was the perfect material for making clothes. When Zuko lived back at the palace, he'd often ask his mother why the men at court did not wear silk like the women. She explained to him that silk was a more feminine-looking thing to wear, and that was way the men wore did not wear it. Instead, she had told her son, the men wore a newly discovered textile called cotton and occasionally they wore wool. Zuko told his mother that when he was king, he'd wear silk everyday, in very masculine colors.

"And what **very **masculine colors would your silk robes be in, child?" she would ask, continuing whatever she was doing, which mostly was tea drinking or flower arranging.

"Well, my favorite color is bright green. I think I'd wear a bright green silk…with black cherry blossoms on it…and spears!" he concluded, after little thought. His mother would laugh her hearty laugh and continue tea drinking or flower arranging. Zuko would smile to himself and look up at the black haired woman amorously. Oh, how he loved her.

"Mother…"he sighed, that stinging rising up again. He buried his head into his knees, creating the fetal position, and sighed, his voice a bit shaky. He tangled black hair hung over his eyes and he made no move to fix it. Memories of the woman flooded back to him and he gripped his knees tighter to his chest.

There was a sudden knock on the door and Zuko immediately straightened himself. He pulled the covers up to his chin and attempted to let the person know they were admitted. However, a hacking noise escaped his throat when he tried to speak loudly enough to be heard through the door. Who ever it was took this as their cue to come in and the iron door opened with a creak.

"Oh, dear…" Auska said, clucking her tongue and coming over to sit on the side of Zuko's bed. He glanced at the indentation his aunt made in the silk and frowned. It wasn't perfect anymore. "How are you feeling?" she asked, placing her cool hand on Zuko's forehead. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment of coolness on his burning head. The prince shrugged his shoulders and moaned in the way that all little children do to say they feel absolutely wretched when then don't want to admit it. Auska shook her head and removed her hand.

"Alright…" Zuko managed to get out, his voice barely loud enough to make out. Auska sighed and turned to a servant that had silently entered the room after she did.

"Go fetch a bowl of water and a rag. This child's burning up," she instructed the servant. The menial bowed and left the room as silently as she had came, closing the door behind her. Auska turned her attention back to her nephew and again placed her hand on his head. Zuko's brows furrowed and his hand popped out from under the blankets to lie tiredly on the pillows.

"I…," Zuko chocked out before another fit of coughing erupted from his throat, "I'm sorry for causing you such trouble," he uttered, closing his eyes to get them to become moist again. Auska shook her head and pushed his hair back with her hand.

"What on earth possessed you to go out like that Zuko? Goodness knows how sick you are right now!" his aunt demanded softly, sliding her hand through his hair again. Zuko actually enjoyed the alien touch and didn't reply for a while, feeling her hand run through his glossy black hair. She asked him again and he shrugged one shoulder. "That's not a good enough answer. Tell me: What on earth were you **doing** out there?" she inquired, stopping the stimulating gesture. Zuko opened his eyes and looked into his aunt's. He couldn't understand why, but he grew angry with her. What business was it of hers to know what he was doing at all hours of the day? Didn't he have any privacy? Any will of his own?

"I don't know. Maybe I slept walked?" he riposted, trying his best to hide his anger and lies under his façade. Auska stared at him suspiciously, the way a mother looks at a child she knows is lying, but sighed and turned her back to him.

"Who knows? You could be right. Too much stress on such a young child can't be good…" she mumbled under her breath. Zuko tensed up, infuriated again. So, she thought he was just a child? That he couldn't care for himself? Well, since when was she his guardian? There were no legal documents, no signed papers. He was still technically his father's and mother's property and Zuko wanted it to stay that way. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that maybe Auska wasn't his favorite aunt. In fact, minute by minute, she was becoming his least favorite.

Abruptly, the servant returned with a bowl of water and a white rag. Auska took the two items from the maid and dismissed her. The black haired woman placed the bowl onto a mahogany table that stood by the bed and dipped the rag into the water. She wrung it out and placed it on the prince's head. He sighed as coolness swept through his body and he threw the sheets off himself. Immediately, though, Auska replaced the sheets on him and went so far as to tuck them under the prince's body. Zuko frowned at her and threw them off again. Auska heaved a sigh and replaced them to where they were. Zuko threw them off again. He saw his Aunt chuckle as she again tried to have Zuko lie under the sheets.

"I don't want them on!" Zuko finally shouted, infuriated and exasperated. He crossed his arms as a shiver ran though his body. Auska rolled her eyes and tried to tuck her nephew in again.

"Look at yourself! You're shivering to death and you say you don't want them on! What sense does that make!" Auska demanded, laughing in spite of herself. Zuko glowered and crouched back up into a little ball.

"Lots! Now, don't put them on me again! I don't need them!" he stated, staring up at his aunt, as if daring her to try and put them on again.

"And who are you to give **me **orders?" the woman asked, surprised with the boy's attitude. She attempted to pick up the sheets, but Zuko kicked them out of her reach and she groaned, exasperated.

"I'm a prince! I'm the prince of the entire Fire Nation!" he declared, continuing to kick the blankets away. Auska placed her hand on his ankles and pressed down, preventing him from kicking. She began to pull them up to him again.

"True, but you are on my ship, in my waters, heading towards my island. Therefore, you'd do well to listen to me and be respectful." She calmly stated, as she pulled the sheets further up Zuko's body. As her hand reached his chin, Zuko bowed his head and attempted to bite her. His teeth made that click noise when they come down on each other hard. Auska had actually recoiled, her hand near her face. Her nephew smirked at her and kicked the blankets off again. Auska stared at him incredulously, shocked and amazed that he had actually tried to bite her. Soon her amazement turned into amusement and she started laughing. Zuko scowled and crossed his arms.

"What's so funny?" he demanded, sitting up and glaring at her. She looked at his angry face and another plea of giggles broke out. His frown deepened and his gaze became darker. Auska's laughter subsided long enough for her to wipe her eyes and clear her throat, in an attempt to compose herself. She breathed in deeply and ran a hand over her silk robes, removing the wrinkles that had emerged from her being doubled over in laughter.

"Well, I was quite shocked…" she began before looking at him and smiling widely, "when you tried to **bite **me!" Auska hooted, covering her face with her hand to conceal her hilarity. Zuko looked at her oddly, a bit confused as to why anyone would find it **funny** that they were almost bitten.

"Yes, well, I'm sure I could bite your finger off if you got me mad enough," Zuko said, head turned up and away indignantly, arms still crossed. Auska's chuckle lessened and she cleared her throat.

"I'm sure you could. In any case, if you don't want the blankets on, that's fine with me. I'm just trying to be a good replacement mom, as your father called me as I was packing." She shrugged, standing up and again getting rid of the wrinkles that had formed in her dress. Zuko turned to her and he looked in her eyes.

"Was that where you were?" he asked, his arms relaxing by his sides, holding him up.

"When? After your father left us?" his aunt asked, tilting her head slightly. Zuko nodded and she shook her head. Auska sighed and sat back down again. "No, I chased after him. I had hoped that I could change his mind, but he had his guards block me off once I reached his compartments." She said, her hands in her lap. Zuko looked down at her hands clasped in her lap and recalled the events of the day before.

"I was looking for you, Aunt Auska," he whined, looking back up her. She gazed at him, surprise and concern shining through.

"You were? Oh, Zuko, dear, I'm so sorry," she apologized, surprising him by picking him up easily and setting him on her lap. Zuko sat up straight and tensed up as Auska started to rub his back affectionately again. They sat like that for awhile, before Zuko started to zone out and eventually fall asleep. The gesture was very hypnotic, Zuko realized. Auska laid him quietly back down onto the bed and paused to look at the sheets lying at the foot of the bed. Glancing back at her nephew, she shook her head and got up. Even though her maternal instincts told her otherwise, Auska respected the boy's wishes and let him be without sheets. She stood up and silently walked back to the door. Opening it slowly so as to prevent it from creaking, she glanced back at the sleeping Zuko. The prince coughed and rolled onto his side, facing away from Auska. She smiled and began to close the door.

"Goodnight, my little prince," she whispered through the crack of the door before closing it slowly. She turned her back to it and swiftly walked back to the main haul of the ship, a determined look set on her features.


	4. Reality is at the end of our dreams

The soft, warm glow of morning sun broke through the rich red curtains and cast a reddish-tint into the prince's room. The boy was breathing evenly, hands tucked under the sheets that he had pulled up to himself during the night. He moaned quietly, brows furrowed, and coughed gently. A shiver passed through him and Zuko curled up into a little ball, trying to keep warm. The reason he was cold had nothing to do with the room being cold. Truly, anyone who walked into the room would say that it was boiling. No, the reason he was shivering was because he was dreaming. Dreaming dreams that he wished he could escape.

_"Mother?" he asked, coming up to his mother's bedside. The pale woman did not look at him, but rather stared vacantly up at the golden ceiling. Zuko tried putting his small hand in his mother's palm, but when he did she gasped and recoiled. Kata started to nervously twirl her hair around her finger and she ran her hands through it, her lifeless gaze never leaving the ceiling. Zuko sighed and turned away. It was always the same. She couldn't see him anymore. Ever since that day…she hadn't been the same. Some said it was the food she ate. Still some others said it was coming. Too much pressure on a girl of 23 to raise a son and be an empress at the same time. Some people said it was his father's doing. Zuko didn't know what to believe; all he knew was that there was something definitely wrong. Zuko coughed gently. Kata turned her lifeless gaze to him, trying to detect where the noise came from. Zuko smiled and tried to make contact again. _

_"Mother?" he asked, leaning his elbows on the bed sheets. Kata's gaze flickered down to the sheets and frowned. _

_"No…" she whispered inaudibly, her piercing orange gaze dulled by whatever was plaguing her. Zuko glanced down at the sheets, confused. Kata's lifeless gaze never left the sheets. Zuko smoothed them over with his hands. Once, twice, three times. Anything to convince his mother that the wrinkles had disappeared. Zuko's mother wailed into her hands, covering her sudden shriek. She rolled away from him, sobbing uncontrollably, and shoulders shaking as if in a fit of giggles. Zuko back away from his bawling mother, frightened by her sudden outburst. He collided into a beautiful mahogany dresser, the golden knobs clanging against the wood upon collision._

_"I never wanted to!" Kata cried, still turned away from her son. He black hair fanned out across the white pillow case, the sweat from her fever causing it to look stringy and weak. "You know I never wanted to! But what could I say? 'No, I don't love you, Ozai, supreme ruler of the Fire Nation'? We bother would have been executed!" Kata babbled to some invisible figure from her past. Her sobbing caused her to gasp for breath, plus her coughing was getting in the way, too. "Oh, Agni!" she blurted out, curling into a tight ball, "Oh, Agni! Please, **please** let me pass on! I don't want this guilt and misery any more! I'm sorry for everything I've done! I am! I may never have loved the Fire Lord, but I truly am sorry. For the infidelities! For the deceit! For **everything! **Take pity on me, dear God! Take pity on me!" Kata pleaded, her last words turning into a hacking noise as she tried to regain breath. Her son looked at her pitiful form and dared to take a few cautious steps forward _

_"Mother…?"he sounded, gazing steadily at the woman's blubbering form. He hand shovered over her shoulder, hesitating. Should he touch her? Would she remember his soft touch? Would she be frightened like she had been before? Abruptly, though, Kata let out another wail and Zuko drew back, gasping, terrified. _

_"And Zuko! Oh, heavens, Zuko! The poor child doesn't know! He'll be deceived, alone all his life. Oh, Cheng, what'll we do? How can I even think of dying yet? Leaving **our **flesh and blood with that monster! Never!" she continued to yell into her clammy hands. Zuko was becoming more and more confused. And afraid._

_What didn't he know?_

_What monster?_

_And who on earth was Cheng?_

_Zuko decided that this madness had gone on long enough. It needed to stop. Marched up to her bedside, he climbed onto the soft mattress and crawled over to his mother. He laid his hand on her shoulder, but before he even could shake her, she let out another horrifying, bloodcurdling scream. It was like she'd seen the Devil himself. Or her heart was being ripped out from her body. The black hared boy stumbled back, petrified, and fell off the mattress. Scrambling all over himself, he made a beeline for the large, ocher doors. Faster than he'd ever ran before. His hand was millimeters away from the doorknob, when suddenly his mother's voice called out to him. _

_"Zuko…Zuko, darling!" she called, like when she would call him to come inside after a long day of play. Zuko turned to look at her, mystification and unspeakable terror welling up in his eyes. _

_"Mother…?" he answered back meekly, dropping his hand to his side. _

_"Zuko…dinner is ready. You mustn't complain about what you don't like to eat, Zuko, or that boy over there…he'll laugh at you…" she whispered, stroking a velvet throw pillow like it was her son's hair. Finally, her fevered delirium had gotten the better of her. Her skin looked even paler and sickly, but her piercing orange gaze never left the pillow. A small smile played on her lips as she hugged the make-shift child to her closely. _

_Zuko shook his head in disbelief, mouthing a silent "No". He turned the knob and flew out the door, running like all Hell had broken loose behind him. He ran blindly, not really knowing where he was headed. All the walls of the hallway looked the same, with the same portraits and tapestries adorning them. He continued running, all the whole his mother's haunting whispers echoing loudly like he were running in a huge limestone cave. Zuko tripped over a nameless something and fell forwards. He plunged into a the darkness of the empty void._

A sharp gasp of breath was what awakened Zuko. When he opened his eyes, he realized he was sitting up straight, grasping the sheets tightly under his chin. Zuko took a few calming breaths, taking stock of his surroundings and situation. It was nothing but a dream, he reasoned. Lying back down on his back, he closed his eyes and continued to breathe steadily. Fragments of the dream began to reassert themselves in his brain and he paid rapt attention to his mother's devastating words. Although he wished he could block them out, the sentences and fragments raced through his brain.

_"What'll we do…?"_

_"I'm sorry for **everything!"**_

_"He doesn't know…"_

_"Monster…"_

_"That boy over there…he'll laugh at you…"_

"NO MORE! I don't want to hear it anymore! I don't want those memories, I don't' need them! Make them go away…someone…make them…" he chanted over and over again, his eyes widened in paranoia and fear. He lay hidden under the silken sheets, shivering. The stinging rose up again and the boy wondered vaguely what it was, which caused his irrational fears to subside. Well, it really didn't matter what this odd sensation was. It was like Aunt Auska's obscure and bizarre touches. It didn't make sense, but it caused emotions to swell up within him. Still, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that he had a crazed, dead mother.

And she was haunting him.

Thanks to everyone whose actually been reading this. I was afraid people weren't going to like it. Anywho, now my entire plot has been ruined thanks to the new episode coming up this Friday (June 3rd). Actually, I don't think that it'll disrupt the plotTOO much, but now I'll have to rearange all my ideas for how Zuko really got the infamous scar. Curse you, Nickalodeon! ahem So...here'ssome questions for all you lovely readers: Should I add another OC? I have a bunch of ideas in my head, but I don't want to lose any of yo lovely folks by having a crap OC come in. Well, actually, the OC I have in mind is really just what I like to call, a "booster" character for Zuko's lovable and fiery ego to emerg in him. Another one is: Do you think there should be any, and I mean any, Zuko romance? At first, I avoided the idea like the plauge, hoping to put into another fic I have in my mind, but I dunno. If you think there should, please review and tell me. PLEASE no 1 sentence answers. I need intelligent answers here, people! So...again thanks for reading and tell me what you think. Oh, also, the plot will continue with Zuko being 7 in Chapter 5, but in Chapter 6, it will fast forward to him being about 12. I believe that is when Iroh will make his debut! Whoo-hoo! So...yeah, review and have a wonderful life!


	5. Arrival

The boat lurched to a stop and the snake-like hiss of steam escaped. Bay waters lapped at its sides, white foam lingering on the iron panels. Above, the hot, mid-summer sun shone with golden heat unto the main deck, causing it to heat up alarmingly fast. Sea birds squawked with piercing, acid cries. The voices of merchants selling their goods called out enticingly. Distant taiko drumming rumbled in the distance. Giggles from the playful street urchins filled the air. Everything was it should have been on Aki Island. Just as she left it.

"How long until we can begin to unload, again, soldier?" Auska asked, leaning over the metallic hand rail with child-like anticipation. Although she had done her hair up again in an elaborate style, the wind tore at the intricate designs, sending strands of it whipping wildly in the sea breeze.

"You and your nephew will be escorted off this ship in 10 minutes. Hopefully, all of your things will arrive at the palace this evening, your Highness," a guard answered in a drawling voice. The man felt ridiculously hot in his armor and under armor, and he envied the woman in her light, summer robes. It was always much cooler on the mainland this time of day, seeing as it was a ways away from the equator, compared to this place that was practically resting on the imaginary line. How any sane human being could stand to stay on this wretched spit of land was beyond his comprehension.

"I think I'll go and awaken Zuko now," Auska announced, interrupting the man's pessimistic thoughts. The guard glanced at her, nodding his head. The black haired royal whirled around and walked over to the doorway that led to the main haul. She stopped short in front of the metallic entryway and turned her attention back to the guard, eyebrows raised expectantly. They stared at each other like that for what seemed like hours to the guard. Abruptly, though, his duty clicked in his head. He gasped and started to move towards the door, when Auska simply shook her head. The monarch clucked her tongue, shook her head once again, and turned her back to the inattentive man.

"Too late, too late," she chided, turning the iron bolt and opening the door herself. It squeaked and she daintily stepped in. Reaching behind her, she grabbed the bolt once again and slammed the door behind her.

Zuko had been wandering the halls aimlessly for awhile. They were quite bland, he discovered, after just a few short minutes of exploration. Servants ushered past him, hardly noticing Zuko, so intent were they on getting whatever they need to get done. The prince had eventually given up hope of finding anything worthwhile to see or do and padded down the hallways, watching his boots and listening to the click-click they made on the floor. Soon, a little melody began to assert itself in his head. It was somewhere between a waltz and a march, depending on how fast he walked. In no time, Zuko had a full marching band behind him and even some lyrics to accompany the little ditty. The prince swung his arms gaily. Things were suddenly looking up.

Out of the blue, hurried footsteps disrupted his merriment and he stopped in his tracks, listening intently. He blinked, surprised as he saw Aunt Auska round the corner and march right past him. So vigorous was her walk, however, that she bumped into him. The woman turned her head, intending on giving a brief apology to whichever servant she assumed she had collided with.

"I'm sorry, I didn't even see---huh?" she exclaimed, astounded to see no one there. She glanced to her right and behind her, growing more and more confused. Finally, she glanced down to see Zuko standing there, hands up hips, smirking up at her.

"Losing your marbles, Aunt Auska?" he teased, staring up at her from under his raven-colored bangs. With embarrassment, Auska gave two self-conscious looks over her shoulders and cleared her throat.

"Well, I just didn't see you…you **are **awfully small," she retorted, sending him a Cheshire cat grin.

"Not that small!"

"Small enough!" Auska teased, patting the boy on the head. He fumed and she laughed. "Oh, Zuko. I'm just trying to get your goat. Lighten up!" she chortled, grabbing one of his small hands. "Come on! I want to show you something!" Auska said. She took off running, her young nephew trailing behind her, trying his best to keep up. They raced through hallways, up a flight of stairs, and finally, bursting out the door, back on the main deck of the ship, and when they reached the outside, they panted in the doorway. Auska placed a hand to her heart before stretching out a runner's cramp from her side. Zuko merely clutched his arms to his sides and waited until the pain subsided long enough for him to stand up. When it did, Auska grabbed his hand once again and led him over to the edge of the deck.

"Look, Zuko," she commanded, gesturing to the port with an outstretched palm, "Just look at that! Isn't it magnificent?" poorly concealed pride apparent in her voice and eyes. Zuko said nothing. How could he? He'd never seen anything like it. Buildings stacked on top of one another, lines of fluttering laundry connecting them. All of the roofs slanted upwards, pagoda style, and they were all a mix of colors. The roads were made of cobblestone, with ruts indented in them. People scurried back and forth, shouting to one another. Some had bags slung over their shoulders. Women balanced baskets of food atop their heads. Children ran in the street chasing one another. The prince smiled to himself. The place looked promising.

"You're home," Auska said, placing a hand on her nephew's shoulder. Another ocean breeze blew from behind them and Auska's hair and dress blew gently in the wind.

"I'm home…"

"And here's my room!" Auska happily exclaimed, throwing the double doors open. The room was painted a brilliant shade of red with gold trimmings. Her gigantic bed stood at the center. A mahogany dresser was pushed against the western wall with a mirror hanging just a few inches above it. Zuko timidly walked in, glancing around cautiously.

"It's…so empty," he stated, looking back at his aunt. The prince walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer. Nothing. He glanced along the top of it. Nothing. The dresser, and the entire room, was completely bare.

"Well, of course it's empty. I was expecting to be gone longer than just two days!" Auska replied, making her way over to her nephew. Zuko turned his back to her and watched her approach in the piece of tell-tale glass.

"How long were you going to be staying, Aunt Auska?" the boy asked turning his head to look his aunt in the eye. She sighed while shrugging her shoulders, and ran a finger over the dresser top. Seeing the no dust had collected, she wiped her finger over the top of the wood piece.

"Not sure. A few weeks, maybe a month. It depended on how long your father was going to mourn," the royal responded, giving Zuko a look that read, _and we all know how long that was. _Zuko glanced at his reflection in the mirror, uncomfortable. The conversation was depressing. And unsettling. Was it true? Did his father not really even care about his mother? About him?

Auska gazed down at her relative. She could be so insensitive and stupid sometimes! It bothered and irritated her to no end. She never was good with children. And this boy was particularly sensitive. For Agni's sake, he just lost his mother, and here she was expecting him to understand every thing that popped out of her mouth, let alone not be affected by it. Auska couldn't help it, though. Although she was one who disagreed with the idea that children were just little adults, this boy was different. Auska couldn't place her finger on it, but it seemed that the very way he carried himself was a sign of his maturity. Even though the prince was just a little boy, his eyes--his entire demeanor--was that of a man.

"Where's my room?" Zuko asked, breaking the melancholy spell that had come over them. Auska blinked and shot Zuko one of her mischievous grins. His aunt turned on her heel and sprinted towards the door and out, leaving a very baffled Zuko behind her in the red room. The prince gave two self-conscious looks over his right, and then left shoulder. What on earth was going on? Where had his wily Aunt run away to this time? Zuko walked guardedly over to the open doors, not daring to make a sound. Confusion wrapped around him like a blanket. Or a dumpling. Speaking of dumplings…

GROWL!

Zuko glared down at his rumbling stomach and attempted to silence it with his hands. How long hat it been since he'd eaten last? Last night? Two night's ago? How had time escaped him so easily? Had he really been that sick? Auska had taken good care of him, he realized. He would need to thank her later. In any case, he was lost, starving, and guideless.

"What am I suppose to do?" he moaned, still clutching his stomach as pangs of hunger shot through him. He looked up at the sky imploringly, secretly hoping that steamed dumplings would magically rain down on him. Or his aunt would hurry up and get back. Whichever came first.

"Why don't we go down to the dining hall? It's about lunch time, anyway," a familiar voice broke in. The prince glanced up and saw Auska, her elegant hand resting on the door frame. Her black hair was in total disarray, while her silk robes were wrinkled and not resting on her appropriately. She looked like she had just run around the world.

"Where…?" Zuko started, as Auska walked towards him. She placed a hand on his back and pushed his gently towards the door. He stutter-stepped, but then picked up his pace. Auska took her hand off and walked with a quickened pace towards the door. Zuko tried to keep up with her, but she was walking just too fast. Apparently, she was just as hungry as he was. "Wait!" he cried, and Auska stopped. She let him walk a few steps ahead of her and then rejoined him.

"I went down to see if your room was ready. It wasn't so I ran back," Auska explained as she ran a hand through her tangled hair. She bent forward and flipped her head, the soft locks falling back into place.

"How far away is my room?" Zuko asked, surprised that Auska was so ragged from running to his room and back. Was it far away from hers?

"Well, my room is at the East end, and yours is at the South. It's a little ways, not too bad. It shouldn't be too far," Auska explained, straightening her dress on her shoulders.

Zuko glanced around him, in hopes of finding the dining room somewhere near. The hallway had dark brown, wooden flooring that glowed red faintly with the low glow of the fire in a golden dish, suspended from the ceiling. The walls, which were just a shade lighter than those in Auska's room, had occasional golden etchings in them, dragons and phoenixes and the like. Unlike his father's palace, Zuko noticed that this palace had no high pillars to support the lofty ceilings. In fact, ceilings themselves weren't very high. Intermittent breaks in the walls would reveal the bustling port outside for just a moment before returning to another golden etching. Zuko began to realize a pattern in the engravings. It went from a phoenix, to a turtle, to a unicorn, then a dragon, tiger, hare, wolf, condor, bear, fish, moth, and some strange looking beast with an arrow down its forehead. And after every one of those, there was a window. Zuko wondered what it was every time they passed it. He had seen all of the other animals, even the elusive phoenix and air condor, but this strange, bovine mammal was completely alien to him.

"What is th-?"

"The Zodiac,"

"Huh?"

"It's the world Zodiac. 3 animals for each nation. The phoenix, dragon, and wolf are the Fire Nation's. The fish, tiger, and hare are the Water Tribe's. The turtle, bear, and moth are the Earth Kingdom's. And the other three are the Air Nomad's. Or were the Air Nomad's," Auska explained, staring straight ahead. A frown crossed her face, but again it was clear.

"So, what are they? The Air Nomad animals?"

"Well, the unicorn was believed to be good luck. They believed that grinding a unicorn horn into water would create some kind of magical elixir to heal all wounds. Ridiculous if you ask me. Uh…the air condor you've seen. In fact, you saw what is believed to be the last one slaughtered in front of your very eyes not too long ago," Auska continued, rounding a corner. Zuko nodded, dwelling on her words. His father had just recently brought Zuko to the outside courtyard to see the air condor. He remembered his father raising his hand and a bowman readying the weapon. When the Fire Lord dropped it, an arrow released by the man sped towards the chained creature and pieced it. Zuko could not forget the sound of its shriek. It had haunted him for weeks.

"The last one I've only read about. I'm not entirely sure what it is," Auska stated, looking thoughtfully up at the ceiling. "Something like…Soaring…no, that's not right. Uh…hm…Flying something-or-other. I really don't remember. They're all extinct, anyways."

"They are? Then what's the point of having it in the Zodiac?" Zuko asked indignantly, letting his guard down once more. Practicality had always been one of the more dominant traits in him. Also, curiosity and honesty. It was quite frustrating for him when things didn't make sense. Everything should have a purpose, in his young opinion, and things that didn't were just extraneous and should not be.

"Don't ask me; I didn't make it up," Auska replied, laughing a little, "It was made up a long time ago, like 2,000 years. I guess they were around then,"

"What sign am I?"

"Well, let's see…you're seven now. Seven years ago was the year of the…tiger. Yes, you're a tiger." Auska responded, checking her calculations on her fingers. She counted back from seven and then nodded. "A creature noted for its unusual beauty and reclusive behavior. Those who are born under this sign are compassionate, headstrong, and down-to-earth…I sound like some kind of street-side prophet don't I?" she chortled, shaking her head and rolling her eyes to the sky.

"Wait--why am I a Water Tribe sign?" Zuko demanded shrilly. "Shouldn't I be a Fire Nation sign?" the boy continued fretfully. He was the prince of the Fire Nation, how could he be a Water Tribe sign? How could this have happened?

"Oh, don't worry about it, Zuko. It's all just stupid superstition, anyways. For instance, I'm a moth. Apparently, I'm soft-spoken, timid, and evasive. Of course, I don't have any of those traits. The Zodiac is just something tired, old, unemployed men made up to amuse themselves. It doesn't have anything to do with anything," Auska said, trying to comfort him. She could see he was still disconcerted, but there was nothing she could do to further convince him. He'd probably forget about once they got to eating, she figured. They walked in silence for awhile, occasional clearing of throats and sniffles interrupting their silence. Auska could tell that Zuko was busy pondering the Zodiac in his mind and his discomposure over being a sign from the Water Tribe. Auska honestly didn't know why they had those ridiculous pictures in the walls. She didn't like them and if they were going to get in the way of her nephew enjoying his stay, then there was no point in keeping them. She made a mental note to talk to the castle decorator to see if something could be done about it.

"How much further until we get to the dining hall?" Zuko asked, doing his best to cover up his whine. It seemed like they had been walking miles and they still hadn't reached it. They rounded one more corner and a doorway covered with an embroidered red silk screen was parted by two guards. They walked in and the two armored men let the drape fall back. They strolled through a blackened hallway, the torches glowing dimly, hardly enough to have any decent lighting. They entered a large hall and Zuko was shocked to see that there was nothing but a simple, squared table in the center. Red cushions served as seats and a vase of peonies was placed in the direct center. Auska lead the way over to the table and sat down on one of the pillows, fanning her robes out behind her. Zuko picked a spot to her right and quietly sat down as well. Immediately, a servant brought them two steaming glasses of green-tea and moved the vase over to the other side of the table. After the menial left (Zuko hoped to bring out the first course), the prince grimaced at his reflection in the jade liquid. He hated tea of any sorts, but green tea was his least favorite. The drink was flavorless in his opinion, and its sickening color made it all the more undesirable. He decided that he would request to just have a glass of water instead.

The servant returned with two napkins of the deepest red, a set of black chopsticks, and a platter of steamed shrimp dumplings. Zuko tried his best not to salivate all over his aunt's table as his eyes grew wide with hunger. Two miniature plates were set before them, and a small dish with which the servant poured in some soy sauce. They left and neither one of the monarchs touched the food.

"Go ahead, Zuko. You take it; you look absolutely ravenous," Auska exhorted, pushing the plate towards him with her eating utensils. He glanced up at her uncertainly, only to find her nose buried in her cup of tea. He picked up one at a time and placed them in his mouth, mindful of his manners. Just because he felt as hungry as a pig did not mean that he had to eat like one, he reasoned. Soon, six dumplings became five, became four, then three, and so on and so forth. All the while, Auska quietly sipped her tea, never letting the cup leave her mouth. Another servant brought another dish, and Zuko polished off that one as well. His aunt never even seemed to mind. She simply sat and drank, silent as a lady should be at the table. She cleared her throat but once, and even then it was barely audible. Zuko wondered if he should get used to this formal silence, if it was expected. But they had talked animatedly two nights ago on her ship and in his room. Perhaps it had to do with there being no one else to hear them at the time? But, there was practically no one here, either. Zuko decided to give conversation a shot.

"I'd like to thank you for keeping me well while I was sick, Aunt Auska," he said, placing the chopsticks down on the table. Auska set the empty cup down on the table and grabbed the ebony teapot. Pouring herself another cup, she smiled to herself. Telling him that it was no big deal, she took another sip. A servant came and placed two mahogany-colored bowls in front of them, black spoons already bobbing slightly in the broth. They sipped the soup silently for a few minutes, when Auska venture to start up a conversation again. She asked Zuko how the soup was and if there needed to be anything done to it. Shaking his head, he replied that the soup was fine. Silence greeted them once again.

_How do I get this child to talk?_, Auska wondered, eyeing him carefully. He was glancing around the room, observing everything in immediate view.

The room itself was red, like the rest of the castle, but relatively small. Aside from the low table they were sitting at and a large vase of peonies tucked away neatly in a corner, Zuko noticed nothing else in the room. The door which they entered from stood in front of him. There was a screen door behind Auska that he assumed opened up to a balcony. To his left, there was absolutely nothing either except a portal similar to the one they had entered from. Zuko watched as servants came and left that door, and he surmised that that must be the kitchen. The ceilings here were low, too, and black. The floor was black, as well. When Zuko glanced down, he could see his reflection in it. The table was a deep brown, low to the ground, and had slanting legs. Much like the slants of the roofs Zuko had seen that morning.

"Did you see that picture?" Auska asked, pointing behind him with her chopstick. He whirled around and was shocked to see a large tapestry hanging from the ceiling. It had some kind of battle scene depicted on it, horses caught in a frozen rear. Firebenders shot immobile blasts of fire at the attacking Earthbenders. The whole thing had only a few colors in it, mostly red and gold. A large figure with fire swirling around him caught Zuko's glance instantaneously. The man had the armor of a Fire Nation soldier, one of a particularly high rank. With graying hair and a stout figure, Zuko could have sworn he had seen the man before. It was like when one confuses dreams and reality.

"Do you know what that is?" she inquired. Zuko shook his head, but continued to stare intently on the man. "That is the battle of Ba Tsing Tse. That man in the center, that's your Uncle Iroh, The Dragon of the West," she informed. Zuko turned back to her and gaped. "Yes, you have a warrior uncle. Oh, don't get me wrong, he's a wonderful man. But very, very impressive on the battle field," she continued, staring up at the tapestry.

"Where else has he, uh, done battle?" Zuko inquired, stirring his soup. He was shocked as Auska instantly launched into a whole flood of praise for this Iroh man. Apparently, he was quite the world traveler. He had even been to the North Pole! As Zuko became more and more interested, he began asking more questions of Auska. It seemed that she could go on forever about her older brother. Zuko smiled at her enthusiasm and zest. She was so animate when she actually got to talking. He realized why he liked her so much in that moment. She was really more an older sister, a playmate, than a "replacement mother". She still had her child-like passion and she talked to him like he was one of her closest friends, rather than her nephew. She didn't treat him like an ignorant child who understood nothing about the world. She was vibrant, throwing in the occasional joke, and wasn't embarrassed at all by her behavior. If anything, Auska was still just a girl, hardly the woman she was expected to be. Zuko guessed that she was going to be labeled as one of those adults who "never grew up".

Auska herself was happy that she had finally got Zuko talking, asking questions even. It showed that he had some interest in being with her. Zuko surprised his Aunt. She had expected him to be cocky, like his father, or unassuming to the point of not even having his own life, like his mother. Zuko was a friendly mix of both plus some of his own qualities. Actually, the more Auska watched him, she was amazed of how much of Iroh she saw in him. The same eyes and once the same hair color. Auska secretly hoped that Zuko wouldn't be one of those who grayed early, like her brother. But his personality was so much like Iroh's! The same inquisitiveness, long attention-span, and both were never, ever rude. As Zuko listened to her, Auska noticed that his eyes never left hers, just like Iroh. He gave her his full attention and seemed so enthusiastic about the conversation. As far as Auska was concerned, Zuko and Iroh could have been father-son.

"Excuse me, ma'am," a new voice broke in. Auska turned and recognized the same guard from that morning. He stood a few feet away from the door and his helmet was cupped under his arm.

"Well, if it isn't my forgetful friend! How are you? Are the rooms ready?" she asked, smiling up at him like an idiot. The man turned a brilliant shade of red and mumbled something, his gaze cast downwards. "Hmm? What was that?" she demanded, cupping her hand to her ear. The man cleared his throat and announced that the rooms were, indeed, ready. "Excellent!" Auska exclaimed, clapping her hands. She stood up and came around to pull Zuko up, much to the prince's surprise. She walked up to the guard and stood in front of him, hands on hips. "Well? Are you going to **lead **us?" she inquired, a hint of impatience in her voice. The man huffed and turned on his heel, marching out the door. As they walked out, Zuko cast one final look back at the tapestry of his uncle.

"Here we are! Here's your new room!" Auska announced stepping into the room. Zuko followed and stopped short, gawking at the beautiful golden walls and creamy ceilings. Open screen-like windows revealed a balcony that overlooked one of the most beautiful gardens in the entire Fire Nation, or so Auska had bragged over dinner. He walked over to them and realized that they were made of rice paper like the ones in the dining hall. They were kind of a cream color, but still allowed light through. He walked over to a door and opened it, amazed to find his own bath. In his father's palace, no except the Fire Lord had a private bath. They all had to use the communal tubs of manually heated water. Not the Fire Lord's, though. His was always hot. That was something Zuko had been looking forward to when he succeeded his father. But now it seemed that he didn't have to. Closing the door behind him, Zuko turned and inspected how the furniture had been placed. The bed, which was not his old familiar, had been pushed up against a wall that was opposite of the screen windows. His black dresser had been brought, however, and he was shocked to see all of his clothes neatly folded within its drawers. A full length mirror with golden dragons melded onto the sides hung on the wall next to the dresser. Tucked in the corner next to the dresser, his toys had been taken out and arranged out on the black, wood floors. It seemed that everything but his bed had been brought. It nearly overwhelmed Zuko.

"It's alright…right?" Auska asked, uncertain by his silence. Zuko took another look around and nodded in affirmation to his Aunt. She relaxed a little, and pointed out that his pajamas were folded on the bed. Zuko glanced over to see his silky, black sleep clothes lying atop the red comforter. He took them and padded over to the bathroom.

"Wait! So long as you're getting ready for bed, I think I'll just say my goodnights now and go to bed myself," Auska said as she walked over to Zuko. Bending down, she wrapped him up in a tight hug, much to his amazement. Squeezing him extra tight, she whispered, "I hope you like it," and released. Zuko blinked and smiled a bit before turning to go and change his clothes in the bath. Stepping inside the room, he turned and gave as small smile back to his aunt before closing the door. He listened to her robes glide across the floor as she made for the door and a small swoosh as she closed the screen behind her. Zuko looked over at the bath, hoping he could get one in before he went to bed. However, he was quickly dismayed when he saw a few logs lying underneath the tub. It seemed that he would need someone to start the fire for him if he ever wanted to take a bath. He sighed and carefully stripped off his traveling clothes. Folding them neatly on the wood base surrounding the tub, Zuko slipped on the cool silk and made for the bed. He was pleased to see that this bed was low, like his Aunt's, and he didn't need a step-stool to get into it. Back at his father's palace, all of the beds were high and Zuko was embarrassed to admit that he needed a little stool to get into it. He fell into the bed and gave a soft sigh as the mattress revealed its soft nature. Zuko squirmed as he reached for the sheets and tried to pull them over himself in the same movement. He was about to drift off when he noticed that the windows were still open and there was still a little fire blazing in a little dish. Groaning, he got up, closed the windows and, looking back so that he would remember where the bed was, blew out the light. Submerged in darkness, the prince made his way over to the bed and fell into it once again. However, he suddenly realized that he did not have his sleeping companion with him. Te, his stuffed wolf, had been his childhood companion since the day he was born. He never, ever slept without it. Getting up, he stumbled over to where his toys had been laid out and began to fervently search for the snow colored dog. Suddenly, he felt its familiar soft fur and made a quick grab for it, hugging it to his chest. Zuko padded back over to the bed, Tanto in hand, and collapsed into the bed, exhausted.

"It's been a strange, but very good day," he mumbled, clutching the stuffed animal to himself. Sleep finally won him over and he drifted off, the peaceful feeling of belonging cradling him like a mother cradles her child to sleep.


	6. 5 years later and a visitation

Chapter 6

_5 years later…_

"_Things_?" Auska inquired skeptically, staring up at Zuko from over the vellum scroll lying on her desk. They were in the study, a fine room painted a brilliant shade of orange, much like the color of maple leaves in the fall. By means of an elaborate archway, it led out to the Imperial Gardens, now a dead brown due to the winter months. Otherwise, the room was constituted by a large desk, a chair, some vases of bamboo and peonies, and that was it.

"Yeah, as in many objects," Zuko replied smartly, rocking back and forth on his heels. He stared around the room nonchalantly before returning his gaze to Auska, who stared at him with raised eyebrows.

"Don't be smart with me," she said finally, although Zuko could tell that she was trying hard not to laugh. She hadn't changed much in the past 5 years. Still the ever playful young woman she had always been. She placed the scroll down, rolled it back up, and handed it to Zuko.

"What do you think?" he asked, eager for her opinion. This piece of paper was important to him and anything of great importance he always entrusted to her. His aunt sighed, getting up from the chair and turned her back to him, staring at a large tapestry that hung behind her. The only kind of design on it was a simple character that read "Sincerity" in red paint on a creamy white background.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Zuko?" she asked, half sighing and rubbing her temples as she turned to face him again. He was shocked and a little disappointed to see that she wasn't as excited as he was.

"Yes, I think it's time. I'm eager to see it after so long," he replied, tucking the scroll into the belt that held up his kimono. The outfit was very simple, much like what the warriors wore when they were only training or sparing.

"Why? You haven't seen it in 5 years. It's not like anything has changed…why go back?" she continued to question, turning back to look at the tapestry. Today, her hair was in two simple braids that fell down to the base of her spine. Red and orange satin threads were interwoven in the ebony hair, and tiny bells tied onto strings were what kept the braids together.

"I don't know, I just feel something. I want to go back. I want--I don't know what I want just yet," Zuko sighed, turning his back to her. "But if you don't think it best, then I'll stay…," he said half heartedly, starting to walk through the archway towards the gardens. He glanced over at Auska, only to find her staring at the tapestry. He waited and stared at her, seeing if he could make her look at him. When she made no move, he sighed again and made his way outside.

Zuko padded out into the Imperial Gardens, eyes cast downwards. His foot steps made soft crunches on the thin dusting of snow beneath his sandals. It had just fallen that night before during supper and both him and his aunt had danced around like giddy little children. He could recall everything in precise detail…

_"Look, Zuko! Look outside! It's **snowing**!" Auska had exclaimed, jumping up from the table. In doing so, she managed to bang her knee on the underside of it. She yelped, and pulled her knee to her chest, hopping around on one foot. "Ow, that was stupid…" she muttered. She shook her leg out a bit before glancing over at her nephew. Zuko rolled his eyes to the heavens before fixing her with a smile that seemed to say, 'You'll never change'. Auska shrugged her shoulders and smiled before rushing over to the screen door. Sliding it open, she ran out onto the balcony and threw her arms up to the sky, giggling. _

_"You're going to get sick…!" Zuko yelled over to her, watching her spin in circles. Either she didn't hear him or she didn't want to, he figured, so he got up and walked over to the balcony. "Aunt Auska, come back in. You're going to get sick…" he trailed off, watching as the snow began to fall harder and he could make distinct shapes in the flakes that fell from the snow. _

_"Isn't it beautiful, Zuko!" she sang, skipping around. "You know," she said, "this is my favorite time of year! It's a nice change from the heat of the summer and autumn, don't you think!" she continued, spinning in place. She let out another plea of giggles and stuck her tongue out of her mouth, hoping to catch a snow flake on her tongue. _

_"You're not going to like it when you're sick with a cold. Come inside!" he commanded indignantly, running a hand down his bare arm. He never did much like the cold weather here and he really didn't like snow. _

_"Oh, don't be such a stick in the mud! Come outside!" Auska said, beckoning him with her hand. _

_"No, I'm going to get sick!"_

_"No, you won't. Come on!"_

_"No, you can have fun outside. I'll just sit and watch you…" he said, turning his back and walking over to the table._

_"Zuko, as your legal guardian, I order you to come outside and play in the snow with me!" Auska said, slamming her foot down in the snow like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Zuko heard the click of her sandal as it met the wooden balcony floor and he cast a side long glance over his shoulder. She glared at him huffily, the white snow flakes dotting her hair and black winter kimono. He could see the Goosebumps all over her arms (as the sleeves were rolled up) and the rosy tint in her cheeks. She was absolutely freezing. He watched her body give off convulsive shivers as she waited on him to make a decision. As much as he didn't want to play in the snow, he felt badly about letting his aunt down. And as much as she was his guardian, he felt to a certain extent that he had to take care of her. And if that meant making her happy, then he was all game._

_"Alright…but only for 5 minutes…" he sighed, walking back into the cold winter winds. Auska make a quick grab for his wrist and they flew down the stairs. The dashed down the path and into the grassy fields that lay just beyond the gardens. There Auska let go of his wrist and went madly running into the snowy meadow. Zuko stood and watched her, the bitter winds blowing strongly enough to pull some hair out of his loose ponytail that hung at the nape of his neck. Eventually, a gust of wind managed to untie the crimson ribbon that held his hair together and it blew out into the white world. _

_"Zuko! Come on! Come run around with me!" Auska cried, skipping around him. _

_"I'm j-j-j-just f-fine here!" he stammered through clenched teeth. He felt like his whole body, even his insides, were shaking and as hard as he tried to control himself, he just couldn't stop._

_"No, you've got to keep moving! That's the secret to not shivering! Come on! Run around some!" she commanded, leaping over imaginary hurtles in her path. Zuko stamped his feet and looked back up at her. Auska shook her head and ran over to him, grabbing his wrist and dragging him along with her. It felt like a thousands icicles had broken off of his legs as he ran with her. He felt heat returning to his body and soon he didn't need Auska holding onto to him to keep him moving. He bolted ahead of her and leaped and galloped around the field, swinging his arms around to try and get the feeling back in them. He heard Auska giggling like crazy and soon, even he could not stop himself from laughing. Normally, he would feel silly laughing at absolutely nothing, but it must of have been one of the 'happy to be alive' moments, he figured. He looked over his shoulder to see Auska growing tired and not running as fast as she had been before. She spun in a few circles before collapsing in the snow. _

_"Ah!" she shrieked, feeling the frigid wetness of the snow seep through her clothes to touch her bare skin. Zuko rushed over to her and leaned over, clutching his gut. _

_"Are you," he began before coughing a bit to get his breathing back to normal, "alright?" he asked. Auska closed her eyes and breathed deeply, calming her lunges that were screaming for oxygen. She snapped her eyes open suddenly and leaped up, much to Zuko's surprise._

_"I'm freezing! Why did you make us come outside, Zuko? What a stupid idea!" she exclaimed, feigning anger on her pretty, rosy face. Zuko blinked, shocked, but seeing the tiniest of smiles tugging on her lips, he rolled his eyes._

_"I have no idea what came over me. I'm such a fool!" he said in a straight monotone, sarcasm dripping from his words. Auska rolled her eyes and cuffed him around the shoulder. _

_"You know, you'd think that I'd be able to put my foot down and say no to you, but when you get like that…there's just no saying no. Besides, how could anyone deny someone with such a cute face!" she giggled, pulling on Zuko's cheek like an old lady does to her grandchildren. He grimaced and shook his head, his brunette hair covering his face. _

_"Stop it! You'll ruin my cute face!" he laughed, batting her hand away. They walked back towards the palace, laughing all the way. _

"Why doesn't she want me to go back? She said that nothing has changed, so that's no reason for me not to go back. Maybe she doesn't think I'm mature enough? But I'm twelve years old. Surely, I'm strong enough to go back." Zuko mused aloud, drawing characters in the snowy ground with his finger. He sighed and looked up at the arch way that he had come from. Auska wasn't there anymore. Everything was absolutely silent, he noticed. No wind. No stirring of the leaves. No animals. No people out and about. Nothing.

"How depressing…" he sighed, burying his hands further into the folds of the kimono he wore. He closed his amber eyes and shivered a bit.

Suddenly, a pounding on the door stirred Zuko and he looked over. The pounding continued and someone called out. Getting up, he scampered over to the large, heavy doors and pushed them open a bit.

"Do you live here?" a man on a rhino asked, glaring down at the boy. Zuko blinked.

"Well, of course I live here. Would I be here if I didn't?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips. The man glared down at him and handed him a scroll tied with a ruby red ribbon.

"Give this to Lady Auska. And hurry!" he barked, tugging at the rhino's reins.

"I'll be happy to give this to my **aunt**, sir. Thank you for stopping by." Zuko said, turning his back to the man. He heard the man gasp and hurriedly begin to form an apology before he closed the door in his face with his foot. As he walked up the path back to the palace, he inspected the scroll. It looked like an ordinary scroll. If it had been from the palace, it would not be tied with a ribbon, but rather with sealing wax. Also, the paper would have a slight reddish tint. So, it was not from his father. Then who could it be?

"Aunt Auska…!" Zuko called, walkingthroughthe palace. He stopped a few servants and asked if they had seen her. Most said that they hadn't until Zuko stopped a girl a few year's younger than him (the daughter of one of the gardeners) and she told him that she had seen Lady Auska go to her compartments…crying. Zuko blinked and nodded his head gravely before hurrying off to find her. He came to her door and put his ear to the piece of wood. Sure enough, he could hear her quiet sniffles and the scratch of a feather pen (a new invention developed in the capitol) on paper. He sighed and knocked on the door.

"Yes?" she asked, her voice cracking a bit.

"Aunt Auska…?" he called uncertainly.

"Oh, Zuko. Hold on for one moment."

He heard her go to the bathroom and splash some water on her face. Zuko took a few steps away from the door and he heard the click of her sandals on the wooden floor. She wrenched the door open and smiled down at him.

"You received a letter." He said, holding out the scroll.

"A letter? From who?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't untied it yet,"

"Untied…so it's not from the palace…"

Auska pulled the red ribbon and it fell out of its tie. She curled it around her fingers as she read the letter. He watched as a huge smile broke out on her face.

"What? What's happening?" he asked impatiently as he watched Auska jump around. She thrust the letter in his hands and wrapped him into a giant bear hug, all at the same time.

"Isn't it wonderful, Zuko! Iroh's coming to visit us!"

"That's great…but I can't breathe!"

"Oh, sorry…"

"Iroh…you mean my Uncle Iroh? The Dragon of the West? The man…in the tapestry?" Zuko inquired, scanning over the letter once more. The characters were all neatly written and in a straight line down. He rubbed the paper between his fingers. It was thin; ship paper. He glanced at the date. "Water, 23 sun…isn't today the 26th?"

"Yes, I think so. When's the date on that letter?"

"The 23rd."

"Hm…that should put him about a day or two from here. He may even be here tomorrow." Auska guessed, counting back on her fingers. "Yeah, probably tomorrow even…Oh no! He can't come! Nothing's ready!" Auska blurted out. She grabbed the letter out of Zuko's hands and rushed out of her room. Zuko followed her, confused.

"Hey everyone!" Auska called down to the servants. They looked up from what they were doing and fixed her with perplexed gaze.

"Yes, Lady Auska?" one of the maids answered.

"Everyone, General Iroh is coming tomorrow to stay with us for awhile. I just got the letter so I want this house to be spik-and-span by tonight! Get to it, **double time**!" she commanded, waving the letter around. The servants immediately jumped to their feet and went to alert the others. Auska grabbed Zuko's hand and lead him back to her room. She shut the door behind her and immediately went into her closet.

"Zuko, be a dear and help me pick out an outfit!"

"What?"

"I don't know what to wear!"

"What does it matter? He's your brother, not your fiancé!"

"SO? I still have to look presentable. I don't want him thinking that I can't manage this place by myself! Everything has to be under control. Alright, I'm in control. Just calm down, Auska. Don't give yourself an ulcer!" she said, stepping out of the closet with a large pile of robes in her hands.

"I don't think that he'll care that much…"

"Well, you don't even know him."

"So, guys don't care that much about clothes or things…"

"They don't about it on themselves. It's different for women. Now, Zuko please don't be oppositional. Can't you just help me?"

"Alright, alright…"

"Which is your favorite?"

"Uh, well, I like the green one…"

"Really? I thought you'd say the red or black one."

"No, green's my favorite color."

"Really? I like purple best."

"Well then why don't you wear purple?"

"Oh, I don't know…."

Zuko heaved a sigh and looked at each different robe. They were all glorious in design and rich in pattern. Auska had worn all of them before, and Zuko thought that they all looked beautiful on her. He didn't understand why women made such a fuss about clothes.

"What's Iroh's favorite color?"

"Green, actually…"

"Hm…well, then I think you should wear green. It would please him." Zuko concluded, pulling out the green one. Auska took a long hard look at it. She nodded her head and pulled it out of the pile. She laid it out nicely on her bed and went to put the others away. Zuko glanced at the dress.

It was a deep, forest green with long sleeves. The dress was cut so that it was longer in the back and trailed behind her. There were navy characters on the dress and the obi that wrapped around the middle was navy as well. It was an obvious winter dress, but with its green color it still held the promise of the on-coming spring.

Auska stepped out of the closet and looked at the dress one more time.

"Yes, I think this is the right one. Thanks for helping me pick out a dress. It would have taken me forever if you hadn't." she said, ruffling his hair a bit. Zuko smiled at her and nodded his head. To his surprise, Auska knelt down and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"When Iroh comes, I'll ask him how things are in the rest of the world. We'll see if you can return after what he tells me, alright?" she whispered. Zuko nodded his head and Auska let him go. She looked at him fondly. Zuko managed a small smile and he could have sworn that he saw her eyes getting watery. Auska quickly stood up, which made her loose her balance on her wooden sandals. She took a few stutter steps and righted her self, clearing her throat.

"Uh, yes, well…go clean your room, Zuko. I want everything to be perfect…" She said, absent-mindedly. She went back into her closet and proceeded to pick out just the right sandals. Zuko heard her muttering to herself as he made his way back to his room. When he arrived, he noticed that it was completely clean. Just the way he left it. Unlike Auska, he always put things back where they had come from and always kept a nice room. He sighed and fell onto his bed, his head in the pillows.

"I want to go back. I don't know why just yet, but I do. I hope they haven't forgotten about me…" he mumbled. He looked over at the little stool tucked away in the corner of the room. He remembered when he needed it to get into bed. He was so small! Zuko used to worry that he would always be short. Monarchs were not short. Thankfully, he began to shoot up when he was ten, and now here he was almost as tall as Auska. Auska was tall for a woman, nearly 5'8''. Zuko figured that he was about two inches shorter than her. He looked over at Tanto, his stuffed toy sitting on the dresser. It had been sitting on the dresser for the past two years, and in that moment Zuko felt like it deserved some company. He walked over to the dresser and picked up the snow white dog. Stumbling over to his bed, he hugged it to his chest and snuggled into his bedding.

"I hope that everything works out. Do you think it will?" he asked the dog sleepily, yawning. The toy remained silent, but Zuko was reassured nonetheless. He gripped it tighter and fell into a pleasant sleep.

* * *

_The next day..._

"Auska! You look absolutely marvelous!" Iroh bellowed, running over to his sister and enveloping her in a huge bear hug. Auska let out a squeal of delight and laughed heartily.

"Iroh! You're suffocating me!" she giggled.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my dear. I'm just so happy to see you." Iroh let his sister go and looked around the hall. "Your home is beautiful, Auska. I love these trimmings. Where did you get that painting? It's so nice to see some color after only the dark gray of the ship. Oh, look at this vase! It's quite handsome! Earth-nation made, no?" Iroh babbled, looking from one thing another. He seemed to have covered the entire room in a matter of seconds. Suddenly, he looked up. "And who is this handsome young man coming down the stairs? Surely, he's not your husband, Auska?" Iroh jokingly asked, smiling widely at Zuko. The boy blinked and stared at Iroh.

"Brother, this is Prince Zuko, Ozai and Kata's son. Remember I told you that he's been with me for the past five years? He'll be turning thirteen soon." Auska said, pride beaming from her face. She walked over to Zuko and brought him over to Iroh.

Zuko bowed and stared at the man from under his hair. It was so strange. This man looked exactly like him, except for the weight and gray hair. Well, that and the Prince was considerably taller than Iroh. Still, they had the same eyes and nose. Same skin tone, too.

"It is a great honor to finally meet you, young Zuko." Iroh said, tipping his head. Zuko stood up and took another look at Iroh. So, this was the Dragon of the West? He hardly seemed threatening. He looked like a kindly grandfather rather than an intimidating general.

"Come, shall we go eat something?" Auska interjected. Zuko blinked and nodded his head. Iroh declared that that sounded like a marvelous idea and gladly followed Auska, launching into stories about his travels around the world and reported on how the war was going for the Fire Nation. Zuko followed along silently, listening to Iroh. This man was certainly an interesting character. Zuko would have to find out more about him and fast. He was the key to getting back where him wanted to be: The Fire Nation capital.

* * *

Author's Notes

wow...this chapter has taken me about 4-5 months to finally finish. and i'm not even that happy with it, but I figure I have to get this done to finally get some action going on. I think this story has been moving rather slowly.

A note on Auska: When I started writing this, at first I thought that I'd use some of my OC's that were on the backburner. But none of them worked. So, for awhile I was at a loss for what to do. Then, I thought to myself, "I wonder what Zuko's relatives were like...? Would they be like Ozai? Would they be like Iroh? His mother...she hasn't shown up in the series yet...I wonder what she's like?" And eventually, I came up with the entire Fire Nation Royalty family tree. In any case, when I wanted to do Auska, at first I thought about making her kind of like the step mother in Cinderella. But that would make the story too angsty and would give Zuko an excuse for being the way he is.

Personally, I think that too many Zuko fanfictions are very angsty and don't focus on Zuko's **character** at all. It just like, "Oh, well this happened and then this and this and this...thus we get the lovable Fire bender we know today." No, that's not what I think at all. I think that it's in Zuko's character to be the way he is. Not his environment. I'm not saying that environment isn't one of the main causes but still.

I totally digressed...

So, basically Auskame. I am Auska. Auska is me. I usually am against fanfictions that will incorporate the actual authors into the stories (excluding comedies). So, as I did in Presumptuous, I made the main character (or in this story's case, one of the main characters) an Avatar representation of myself. Basically, you can look at Auska and say, "That's the author." So, for Masako Moonshade that is the origin of Auska.

Now that I'm done rambling...onto more action and hopefully this story will actually get somewhere! WOOO!

Reviews are really appreciated. Thank you in advance.

CaLa


	7. Failure and Relevation

Chapter 7

Plop!

Zuko tossed a rock into the frozen pound, creating a hole in the ice. He picked up another one and threw that one in carelessly. It fell into the same hole.

Plop!

Plop!

Plop!

Zuko glanced back at the palace. It was still dark; no one was awake, but him. He could see the very top of the red, slanted rooftop beginning to be illuminated by the rising sun. He looked around the Gardens. Everything was still dead. The trees were bare skeletons and there was snow hanging off of them like flesh clinging to the bone. The occasional twig would stick up from the snow, looking like a desperate hand reaching out for someone, anyone to save it. Otherwise, everything was white and all previous signs of the Garden's former beauty were gone.

"It looks like a graveyard, no?" a voice broke in. Zuko whirled around to see Iroh standing behind him. The older man held a steaming glass of something in his hand and he proceeded to take a long sip of it. He looked around the gardens one more time before closing his eyes and sipping silently on the drink. "Or a battlefield…"

Zuko gazed up at the man. Iroh was full of stories and experience, as he had discovered at diner last night. He must know everything about the state of the capital. Auska had told Zuko to wait and she would relay the information to him. But Zuko needed answers and he needed them now.

"How are things in the capital?" he asked. Iroh raised an eyebrow at him and lowered his drink.

"Have you no news?"

"No, nothing. No information ever comes this way,"

"I see," Iroh said, walking over and dusting off a snow-covered bench. He sat down slowly and sighed. "I'm getting too old!" he exclaimed, laughing a little. He pushed the snow off of the other side and motioned for Zuko to come sit next to him. "Well, young Zuko, what would you like to know?"

"Everything."

"Hm…alright, then. After the death of your mother, Ozai became more involved in the war. The Northern Earth-Nation territories fell to him, along with some of the easterly ones as well." Iroh took another sip. "And about four years ago, your father remarried and--"

"What!" Zuko blurted out, standing up. His eyes were livid and he had his fists clenched into tight balls.

"Yes, it was about a year after your…leaving. Her name is Mai. And they have a daughter, too. Zula, her name is. A very energetic young lady. Knows just what she wants in life…" Iroh trailed off, staring off into the sunrise. Zuko stared at him incredulously, his mouth drawn in a straight line. So, they had moved on. No one remembered him. As far as Zuko knew, women could not ascend to the throne. Was he still the heir? Would he be replaced by this…this little upstart of a half-sister?

"I can't believe it…" he whispered, weakly sitting down on the bench. Iroh looked over at him sympathetically. So it seemed that Auska never told Zuko. He was blissfully ignorant for the past five years. Kept in the dark. What a pity.

Zuko hung his head in his hands. How could this have happened without him knowing? No one ever told him. Not his father. Not this Mai character. Not even Auska…

Auska knew all about it, Zuko realized. She wanted him to stay with her here forever. She was so selfish! How could she deceive him like this! She knew that there was someone threatening his position and she did nothing. She never did anything to support him. She never had him trained as any kind of a warrior. True, he was very bright and was a master at the written word, but this would mean nothing to Ozai. The Fire Lord needed a son who would be willing to die in battle for his father…for his country. Zuko saw that Auska had made sure that Zuko never had such training. She would keep him on this little island for as long as he lived and he would never, never in a million years, know anything of the outside world. Of all the traitorous things to do!

Iroh and Zuko sat still as statues; the silence of winter deafened their private thoughts. Iroh looked over at Zuko. The boy's breath was ragged and he seemed to be trying to hold in the hiccups that came with furious crying. Iroh turned his head away. He would not shame the boy by watching him cry.

Suddenly, some movement from Zuko. With lightning fast speed, the boy knelt down and picked up a rock. He hurled it into the frozen pound. It crashed through the ice and Zuko launched another one, letting out an angry howl as he did so. The prince hurriedly picked up another of the gray, snow-covered stones that outlined the pound's perimeter. He savagely threw it in, huffing and puffing as steam escaped from between his clenched teeth. The rocks all landed in that hole.

"That is some incredible aim," Iroh commented, picking up a stone and tossing it to Zuko. "Again!" he commanded. Zuko looked dumbly down at the rock and back at Iroh. His uncle nodded his head and he sat back down on the bench. He picked up his drink and took a long sip. "Ah, ginseng tea…my favorite." He sighed, "What are you doing? Throw the stone into the pound." He said, gesturing to the pound with his cup. Zuko looked at him quizzically, but threw the stone in. This time, it landed a few inches away from the previously made holes. Iroh sighed. "Now you are not concentrating. Do what you were doing before."

"But I wasn't concentrating before."

"Then do that."

"I can't just not concentrate."

"You could before."

"I was angry before."

"Then get angry."

Zuko sighed, growing irritated with the old man. Here he was, trying to get some peace and quite and he marches right in and tells him all of this upsetting news. Not only that, but now he was Zuko orders.

"Listen--is there some way you can teach me to concentrate?"

"Yes, I suppose there is…Here watch me." Iroh slowly got up, his hands on his lower back. He took a deep breath in and spread his legs out wide and squatted down so that his bum was nearly touching the ground. He looked at Zuko and motioned for him to do the same with his head. Zuko did as his Uncle told him to and squatted down. "Now take deep breaths in and exhale evenly." Iroh instructed, standing up normally. Zuko nodded and did as he was told. "You are breathing too fast. Slower, calmer. Concentrate."

"I am," he growled under his breath.

"Close your eyes if it helps,"

"My eyes **are** closed."

"Don't talk!"

Zuko was about to reply, but remained silent. He breathed in and out. In and out. In and out…

Agni, this was boring. He found his thoughts wandering.

"Zuko! You are not breathing! Exhale!"

"I am!"

"You were not. Do not let your thoughts wander."

"Fine…"

So, it was back to the same riddle. In and out. In and out. Inhale, exhale. In hale…exhale…over and over and over…

"See, you're getting it. Now, throw this stone into that hole you made earlier." Iroh said, placing a stone in Zuko's open palm. Zuko looked down at it, doubtfully. He didn't think that he could do it again. Still, he turned to face the pound. He drew his arm back and let the rock go, watching it with hawk-like vision. It landed in the hole. Zuko smiled to himself. "Good job. Again." Iroh said, nodding towards the stones. Another rock was launched into the pool. It landed with a plop in the hole. Ten, twenty, forty stones all landed in the hole. Zuko was surprised. He didn't think that he could do such a thing. But, if he could do this…perhaps he could do more.

"Oh look. It seems your Aunt has decided to join us, "Iroh commented looking over his shoulder. Zuko dropped one of the stones and whirled away to walk further into the Garden grounds. He didn't even want to look at the woman now and he wasn't sure that he ever wanted to again.

"Zuko!" Auska called from behind him. Zuko walked faster and disappeared into the forest that outlined the highly stylized Gardens. Auska kept calling for him, but he ignored her and quickened his pace.

"Leave him be, sister. He is angry with you," Zuko hear Iroh say. Zuko didn't waste this opportunity and slowed his pace. He ducked behind a large poplar and listened to the two speak.

"What do you mean? What have I done?" Auska whined. Zuko stuck his head out a bit from behind the great tree and watched Iroh calmly sit Auska down on the bench.

"He is angry that you never told him about the condition of the Fire Nation and his part in it. He didn't know about Mai or Zula or anything about the war. He is angry that you never told him. To be honest, I think it was foolish to do that, Auska. Think of how betrayed he must feel," Iroh said.

"I didn't want him involved. I want to keep him away from that monster and his disgusting wife. I still don't trust her. I know what she did. Who's to say she may do the same to Zuko?" Auska demanded. Zuko raised an eyebrow. So this new wife had a reputation?

"You could never prove it, Auska. Just drop it. Think of Zuko now, not Mai. How do you think he feels?" Iroh continued, grabbing his sister's hand. Auska looked back into the forest and Zuko ducked behind the tree. Zuko waited, hearing nothing from Auska, and cautiously looked over the trunk of the tree. Auska sullenly shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

"I suppose…he feels absolutely awful. I guess I should go apologize to him," Auska sighed, standing up with much effort. Iroh grabbed her hand and sat her back down.

"Give him some time. He probably doesn't want to talk to you right now. He was pretty angry," Iroh continued. Auska sighed and rested her head in her hands, sighing to herself. The boy-prince watched his crestfallen aunt and couldn't help feel a twinge of guilt. But he brushed it aside and continued his angry march through the forest, reassuring himself that he was right to be angry and if anything she should feel bad about herself, deceiving him the way she did. He walked mindlessly until he came upon a tall, dark wood fence. It towered a good three feet above him and he jumped up to try and see over the thing without much success. Frustrated, he glanced around his surroundings and noticed a cherry tree rooted right next to the fence with a branch reaching out a few feet over. Zuko scampered over to it and mounted his foot against the tree's trunk. Grabbing on to the thinner branches he hoisted himself up until he could just reach the think branch. He squatted down and shuffled awkwardly onto it, for fear of falling back down on the ground below him. Zuko grabbed a branch above the thick one he was sitting on and stood up. What he saw shocked him to the core.

Outside of the forest and over the fence, the entire port city was shining in the morning light. The boy could hear the sound of the waves hitting the piers and the calls of early merchants. Smoke poured out of chimneys and Zuko watched children run out of their homes, school bond. He never knew that such life existed outside the palace walls. He breathed in the deep scent of urban air and gazed at the sun's light coating the city like a pale, yellow sheet of silk. Zuko looked down at the ground below and tried to estimate exactly how many feet he was above it.

"About four feet up…that's not too bad. I could make it if I was careful," he whispered to himself. Just then a glint caught his eye and he looked over to the west. A Fire Nation cruiser was speeding towards the docks and the emblem on its flag betrayed it to be from the capital.

Suddenly, Zuko had a plan.

* * *

With a small bag bouncing against his back, Zuko sprinted back to the fence in the dead of night. In the bag were a few changes of clothes, money, documentations of who he was, and a few mementos. The prince had not spoken a word of his plan or even portrayed any kind of hint that he was planning to run away.

Well, not run away exactly, he figured. He was escaping. He wasn't mad at his Aunt anymore. Still, he wasn't going to think about anything else right now. He was completely hell-bent on at least getting past that fence and out to the pier. Suddenly, the wall loomed up in front of him and he had to stop short before he crashed right into it. He found the cherry tree with ease and scampered up the tree. Scooting on to the branch that hung over the fence, he lowered himself as best he could while still holding onto the limb. He let go and landed softly in a pile of dead leaves. Zuko glanced back at the fence in utter bewilderment. Was that all that really separated him from his destiny? A single piece of wood? If Zuko hadn't been mindful of being completely silent, he would have laughed at the fence. With a determined look etched onto his features, he sprinted down the hill and into the city itself.

Even though it was the dead of night, the city was bustling with life. Teahouses had customers pouring in and out of the silk screen doors and woman wearing decorated kimono and exotic hairstyles calmly walked the streets. Zuko stared at the women as they passed by him and a few smiled at his innocence. He slipped under a window and poked his head just over the sill to hear the sound of men and women laughing, with the serene sounds of the samisen in the background. Zuko left the teahouses and bright, city lights and continued on his way down to where he assumed the piers were. As he grew nearer and nearer to the scent of fish, the buildings became smaller and the women who passed Zuko by did not smile at him. Finally, he was completely out of the residential district and he found himself in the industrial area. Zuko frantically began to look for a ship that resembled the one he had seen earlier this morning. As he traveled farther and farther away from the lights and sounds, darkness creped up on him and the shadows began to take on a life of their own. It was chilly down by the ocean and Zuko ran his hand over his arm, trying to warm himself. He couldn't find the blasted ship anywhere and was becoming exceedingly angry and frightened.

"This is ridiculous. I know I saw that ship. It has to be here. Where is it?" he mumbled under his breath, scrutinizing every single boat he passed by.

"We'll help you find your lost ship, kid," came a sleazy voice from behind Zuko. The boy whirled around and came face to face with a group of three men. The one in the middle was tall and lanky, with gold for teeth and grimy hair. The other two were butch and taller than the man in the middle. Zuko's eyes widened in fright and he cleared his throat.

"That's very kind of you, but I think that I can manage," he said. The men sniggered to themselves and sauntered up to Zuko. The boy backed away unsteadily, but one of the buffer men quickly stepped behind him. Zuko collided into his body and fearfully looked up into the man's frowning face.

"Don't worry about us, kid. We don't wanna hurt you or anything…we just wanna see what'cha got in that bag o' yours," the leader smiled dangerously. Zuko clutched the bag protectively to his chest.

"There's really nothing in here. Identification, food, some mementos from home. Nothing that would interest you," he argued. The skinny man's lip curled and he yanked the bag from Zuko. He tore it open and all of Zuko's money spilled out onto the cobblestone.

"Well, well, well…looks like we got ourselves a liar here, boys. And a filthy rich one at that. But it doesn't matter how rich you are, kiddo. Me and my brothers don't like liars. Especially spoiled brat ones like you. You know what to do, boys," the man said, swinging the bag over his shoulder and walking away, whistling nonchalantly. Zuko scampered away from the big man behind him and tried to run away, but found the other obstructing him. The two brutes began to corner him against a building…

* * *

"GONE?" Auska shrieked, whirling around from the silk screen window. Two palace guards stood right behind her and nodded their head in affirmation at the same time. "And when exactly did this happen, captain?" she hissed, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"About a half hour ago, ma'am. We heard footsteps in the forest and thought it was one of the cook's children trying to escape again. I chased after the child, but lost the trail. However, when I started to resume the search I found a stuffed animal on the ground. I recalled seeing Prince Zuko carrying it around with him when he was younger and--"

"Do you still have it?" Auska demanded. The guard nodded and revealed the gray wolf toy in his hands. The woman's eyes widened and she took the toy with her two shaking hands. "Tanto…" she breathed, recognizing the toy. She stroked its head absent mindedly and breathed in its scent. It smelled like Zuko.

"Ma'am…?"

"Guards, assemble a party of about 8. I want you to go into the city and scour every corner for him. Don't come back unless you have Zuko with you. I don't care where you have to go or who you have to harass, just get Zuko back here," she commanded, turning back to look out window. The guards saluted and left Auska to be alone in her chambers once again.

"What have you done, Auska…?" she helplessly questioned, gazing up at the stars.

* * *

"Get away from me!" Zuko shrieked, rolling away from the two men. A rough hand grabbed him and pinned him against a wall with peeling paint. Zuko's hands immediately flew up to his neck, trying to release himself from the man's viselike grip. The skinny man sniggered from behind the two bullies and fiddled with a coin between his fingers. He nodded to his brothers and left once again, disappearing behind a curtain of shadows. The remaining men chuckled and the one let Zuko go. The prince placed a hand on his neck and coughed, trying to regain his breath. Suddenly, his head jerked up and he saw that the men where mere inches away from him. One reached out a meaty hand to him and it was then the Zuko felt something within him stir.

Not quite knowing what he was doing, Zuko extended an open palm and a fiery blast shot out. The two men jerked back and took a few wayward steps away. Zuko himself was surprised, but seeing that the men feared this new found power of his, he decided to use it to his best advantage. He punched the air and fire escaped from his fist.

"He's a Firebender! Let's get out of here!" one of the brothers said to another. The other man didn't even bother replying. He turned and sprinted into the shadows. Zuko stood in the street by himself, panting. He realized that he still had his fist in the air and he lowered it, shaking a bit. Suddenly, things swayed a little and the boy had to sit down, leaning against the building. He closed his eyes…


End file.
